Power and the Passion
Story: Sam MacLachlan
Photos: Phil Smith
Meaty mid-range power combined with Italian styling and engineering - Aprilia's RSV Mille is a V-twin lover's delight.
My relationship with Aprilia's RSV Mille has been something of a hot and cold affair in the past. It was running pretty hot when I first swung a leg over the 2001-spec machine last year - I liked it immediately. It was roomy, exuded quality and sported an engine that made the bike so easy to ride - or so I thought.
Exiting Phillip Island's Turn 11 on my arse, preceded by a shower of sparks and the hapless RSV, had me wishing I had given the annual AMCN Tour of Duty shenanigans I was a part of a wide berth - my explanatory phone call to Aprilia Australia's head office the next day was a little uncomfortable to say the least.
But the oopsie was entirely my fault, and Aprilia's Mille has remained around the top of my wish-list. And it still does, despite the fact that there ain't much changed for the 2002 model tested here - nothing really needed to be.
SURPRISE SURPRISE
Given my soiled record with the RSV, I was a little surprised to be trusted with the sampling of the latest model, particularly as the test would involve some racetrack content. I was happy to oblige of course...
Part of the test involved heading to the Broadford race circuit to compensate for the RSV's absence at the 12-bike 2002 Master Bike shootout, the annual sportsbike comparo attended by the world's leading motorcycle mags, and of which AMCN was a part for the first time this year - read all about it in Vol 51 No 22.
Aprilia had withdrawn its RSV-R (the up-spec version of the RSV) at the last minute, arguing that comparing the bike to the $50K Ducati 998R Testastretta flagship on hand would be doing the Mille a disservice.
Even taking into account the fact that the Aprilia had come within a gnat's knacker of winning the 2001 Master Bike test outright - just bested in the end by Suzuki's GSX-R1000 - Aprilia didn't want to play ball. A big call.
At the risk of sounding selfish however, it meant a great day out of the office for me, riding the scenic and twisty back route to Broadford for a few hours on the track, then back again. Bliss.
MONSTER MID-RANGE
Technically speaking, the RSV has a set of new clothes for 2002, and that's it - after all, the 2001 model had undergone a major re-build, the company claiming over 200 modified parts.
The new graphics suit the bike well in my opinion, and remain distinctly Aprilia - there won't be many people mistaking the RSV for any other brand of bike!
The testbike did deviate from a stock version in one respect, however, in the form of a $3506 Akrapovic/Aprilia exhaust system (including an EPROM chip to suit), the same set-up as the limited edition Haga RSV-R replicas are supplied with (see panel story).
This means a stainless-steel 2-1-2 system, which not only looks the business, but sounds it as well, without emitting the kind of decibels that will have the noise police bashing down the door.
The note truly is sweet, the bellow from the 998cc, DOHC, 60¡ V-twin one of the nicest around, I reckon.
The mufflers themselves hang off the sub-frame courtesy of a pair of carbon-fibre brackets, which are fitted at the expense of the pillion pegs. Not to worry, bikes like these are more enjoyable ridden solo...
The cans aren't just for looks and noise either, as the dyno chart proves when they are combined with the chip. The number of ponies at the top end are the same as the bike tested last year, at 118ps, but the delivery is oh-so-different.
Gone is the dip at 5400rpm the 2001 bike was plagued with. Instead it's smooth sailing from idle to redline, and I didn't need a dyno to tell me that.
The mid-range grunt is positively astounding, enough to carry the front wheel exiting a corner hard in the lower gears, and the engine just keeps on keeping on until the adjustable shift light (set at 9500rpm) lights up, followed shortly afterwards by the rev limiter.
Mr Practical
This kind of power delivery is a boon for road riding - I just stuck it in one gear and rolled on and off when I got lazy. Overtaking slower traffic didn't need a gear change either most of the time - I just cracked the throttle and held on. The revised EPROM chip smooths out the Nippondenso EFI throttle response too. It's glitch free.
When a gear change is required, the Ôbox obeys orders without fuss, and felt even smoother than the 2001 testbike, perhaps courtesy of the extra kilometres on the odometer. Neutral was hard to find at a standstill, however. In fact, it was easier to select neutral from second gear rather than first. Other RSV's haven't exhibited this Ôfault', so I'll put it down to this particular testbike.
At first the gear lever was set a little too low for my hoof, but a quick fiddle with the eccentric adjuster fixed that. The rear brake lever is adjustable in the same manner, and the clutch and front brake levers also lend themselves to adjustment.
The hydraulic clutch is still a little on the heavy side, but the action is smooth. Down-shifting didn't provide any nasty surprises either, the Pneumatic Power Clutch (PPC) system keeping the rear wheel in motion despite my attempts to cause a compression lock-up on the track.
The PPC clutch is indeed a worthy feature on such a large capacity V-twin, particularly when I muffed the throttle blip on the downshift - instead of being rewarded with a screech of rubber and tightening of butt cheeks, there was merely a mild judder to let me know I'd cocked up. I know which I'd prefer.
Broad Minded
The back roads to Broadford are quite bumpy, and the RSV's suspenders are notably on the firm side at lower speeds - and like most thoroughbred sportsters feel better the faster things are.
The steering is pin sharp in the real world, and the fairing provides good protection considering the bike's design brief - easily the best of the V-twins, not to mention the roomiest.
The riding position is aggressive however, and there was a lot of weight on my wrists. Plus the seat grows teeth after a decent-length ride. Having said that, the Aprilia is not meant to be a sportstourer, and it remains more comfortable than many other sportsbikes. The riding position makes more sense on the track, too.
Having recently been to Broadford aboard two of the RSV's V-twin competition, namely Honda's SP-2 and Ducati's 998 (Vol 51 No 24), I was keen to find out first hand just how the Aprilia stacked up, particularly given the bumpy nature of the Broadford circuit - it's more real world than race world.
The answer is it stacked up very well, and had the Ducati been there, I don't believe there would have been much in it between the two.
There was a hint of understeer, but holding a line is a cinch, and the RSV is super stable to boot. The 43mm USD front forks soaked up the sharp bumps around Broadford admirably, and while the bars wiggled in my hands at various sections of the track, I was never afraid the shimmies would become any more serious than that, even without a steering dampener.
Your're Sached
The rear Sachs shock also does a great job, even though the rebound damping feels a little slow on standard settings when the shock is cold. Once there was a bit of heat in it, though it worked beautifully. Luckily, as it turned out, because accessing the rebound knob at the bottom of the shock was an exercise in contortionism - a pity as all the other adjuster access, front forks and rear spring preload included, is easy.
The shock did a great job controlling all that magical mid-range torque and power as it forced its way through the rear Dunlop 207RR, though - corner exits soon became my favourite domain.
The best feature of the bike, in my opinion, are those magnificent Brembo stoppers. I could wax lyrical about the bite, power and feel they offer, but I won't. Suffice it to say they are brilliant.
The set-up on our testbike was making a weird noise thanks, I think, to a build-up of brake dust, but this didn't affect performance, and would have been an easy fix. And it disappeared towards the end of the RSV's tenure at Horror HQ.
All in All
To be honest, I only have two criticisms of the bike. Firstly the speedo which, although part of a technologically advanced dash, is hard to read in direct sunlight.
The second is the sidestand, which needs a longer tang in order to clear the fancy exhaust system - it is very difficult to extend the stand in race boots. That's it.
Even the fuel economy is reasonable, which averaged out at 15km/lt, including track use. This means a range of around 270km is possible from the 18lt tank.
A buyer in the V-twin market has some quality options, the $26,995 Ducati 998 (and soon 999), $21,990 Honda SP-2 and the Aprilia, priced at $24,497.
That said, the Aprilia is in my opinion well worth a look. In fact, after this recent samping I still can't understand why Aprilia withdrew its RSV-R from the 2002 Master Bike...
Source:
http://www.bikepoint.com.au
